


Sunshine Boy

by bbybeomah



Category: GOT7, JJ Project
Genre: Canon Universe, Fluff and Humor, JB-centric, JYP trainee days, M/M, Predebut jjp, Puppy Love, Slice of Life, jealous!jaebum, mentions of 2PM, trainee!JJP
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-07
Updated: 2021-01-07
Packaged: 2021-03-17 20:40:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,088
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28606095
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bbybeomah/pseuds/bbybeomah
Summary: Tired of distraction, Jaebeom mentally checks off all the reasons why that other trainee, Park Jinyoung, annoyingly occupies his headspace - pretty frequently.A trainee-era JJP oneshot, wherein Jaebeom is in denial, and Jinyoung is (probably) in love.
Relationships: Im Jaebum | JB/Park Jinyoung
Comments: 12
Kudos: 112





	Sunshine Boy

**Author's Note:**

> I made a brand-new [twitter](https://www.twitter.com/bbybeomah/) come talk to me? :P

_2010_

He seems bathed in sunshine, every time Jaebeom sneaks a peek at him. The tall, sullen boy knew he should be paying attention to whatever lame public relations class he was stuck in, as JYPE was no stranger to scandals and PR nightmares alike, but his mind wanders anyway: 

To the round-cheeked, golden-skinned boy who sits in front of him that he'd tied with at the auditions. 

Park Jin-young. 

_Weird,_ Jaebeom cringes inwardly, still unable to halt the immediate vision of his boss with the same name that first pops up. 

The feeling tides over quickly as he studies the back of Jinyoung's head and the dorky bowl-cut-with-bangs hairstyle he's sporting. Now rather perturbed, Jaebeom mentally begins to check off all the reasons why the other boy so annoyingly preoccupies his headspace - _pretty frequently,_ he adds bitterly. 

Firstly _—_ the most obvious one, he thinks, is that they _did_ tie at the open auditions together, and that's never happened in JYPE history. So, naturally, that would make them rivals. Right? 

Secondly _—_ despite the relatively short amount of time that they've known each other (precisely one year, seven months, and twenty-seven days, he knows), Jinyoung has managed to learn, a) exactly how to push Jaebeom's buttons and b) follow that up with " _Jaebum-hyuung"_ and smile so coyly that the elder could _never_ stay pissed at him. 

Thirdly _—_ the kid was such a menace, catching Jaebeom off guard every Thursday after his brutal martial arts lessons. Each week, without fail, the younger boy would wait for Jaebeom (citing that his own singing lessons basically ended at the same time, so why not wait and walk back to the dorm together?), with the same white plastic convenience store bag clutched in his hands. _"Got you a strawberry cream sandwich, hyung. The sugar will help after that workout!"_

And lastly _—_ he's been getting closer to that new American kid who just joined the company, what with his gigantic doe eyes that look too damn big for his head and perfect lips even _without_ getting any cosmetic surgery. 

Jaebeom resists the urge to roll his eyes back into his head. 

And then a perfectly aimed whiteboard eraser pegs him square on the forehead, earning a very inelegant yelp from his mouth. 

" _Yah, Im Jaebeom!"_ comes the instructor's booming voice, reminding Jaebeom of his scary middle-school science teacher. "You better listen closely, before you end up like _you-know-who._ " he warns icily. 

Everyone in the class gapes at him in surprise _—_ except Jinyoung. The younger offers teasing eyes and a snicker before turning his attention back to the instructor. 

Of course. 

/ / 

  
  
  


_God_ , _organic this, organic that,_ Jaebeom thinks as he clutches his tray, peering at the assortment of foods offered in the JYP cafeteria. Since when was _organic french fries_ a thing? Did it mean that the potatoes were organic? What about the oil used to fry them with? 

He shakes his head, deciding to just go ahead with some good old _soondubu-jigae_. The _ajumma_ serving the food gives him an extra large bowl of the soup, and tops him off with a second helping of rice, spouting off about how the 2PM sunbaes didn't get that muscular without her help when Jaebeom tries to respectfully decline the surplus of food. 

Most of his other trainee friends are off having their own lessons, so Jaebeom spots a little table nestled in the corner and makes his way over there. He hums a nameless tune, enjoying how the sun sends hot, bright streaks of light through the large floor-to-ceiling windows, bathing the chattering, bustling lunch crowd. Jaebeom sets his lunch down, careful not to slosh the gigantic bowl of soup, before sliding into the seat to enjoy his meal. 

The peace and quiet Jaebeom originally sought out is short-lived, though, with the current bane of his existence all but _galloping_ over to him from across the cafeteria, _with_ the American kid in tow. 

  
"Jaebeom-hyung!" Jinyoung beams at the older boy, placing his own food tray down on the table across from Jaebeom. "Mark hyung, come come come. Sit down here." he beckons the other trainee, who eyes Jaebeom warily, but sits down nonetheless. 

"J-jinyoung-ah," Jaebeom says, _honest to God_ surprised by the sudden intrusion. "And you are…?" he looks pointedly at the other boy. 

Jinyoung reaches a friendly arm to sling over the other boy's shoulders, patting him reassuringly. "Hyung, this is Mark Tuan. Mark-hyung, this is Jaebeom-hyung," he introduces, and Mark's steely expression finally breaks into a little bit of a smile. "He's from Los Angeles _—_ how cool is that? I've always wanted to go there." 

Jaebeom peers at Mark pensively, as if trying to size him up all in one look. Up close, it's undeniable that he's as good-looking as the rumours about him had swirled, boasting big eyes, a small face and thick brows that were universally coveted by all male idols and idol-wannabes. Mark seems shy under Jaebeom's gaze, reaching out to offer a handshake, before apparently realizing how _Western_ the gesture is and then switching to a stiff bow. 

"Markeu." Jaebeom nods, offering a polite bow back. 

Jinyoung swats his arm. "No, hyung. Mark, not Markeu. _Maaaarrk.”_ he enunciates, grinning at Mark as if sharing a private joke. This earns a giggle from the foreigner, who covers his pretty laugh behind long, equally pretty fingers. 

Jaebeom watches the exchange between the two, suddenly feeling extremely prickly on the skin behind his neck, ears hot. "Okay then," he grits out.

" _Jaebeom-hyung,”_ Mark says slowly, as if testing out the other boy's name. 

"Oh, no," Jinyoung is quick to jump in. His fingers lightly wrap around Mark's forearm to halt him, and the friendly gesture makes Jaebeom's blood pressure spike. It would honestly be a miracle if the other two boys didn't notice his eye twitching. "You don't have to call him that, Mark-hyung. Jaebeom-hyung is only a few months younger than you. You guys are _same-age friends._ " 

Idly, Jaebeom thinks that being the same age as Mark makes the whole situation extra annoying. 

" _Chingu._ " Mark then says, and Jinyoung claps his hands together happily. 

"There you go!" 

/ /

To Jaebeom's dismay, Mark is put into the same martial arts tricking class as him. Even if it made perfectly good sense - they were the same age, thus having a higher chance of debuting together than with, say, those two other tiny kids from the dorm, Chris and Bambam, who were in the morning martial arts class - he still didn't _like_ it. 

The American boy had barely made it through the door on time, showing up red-faced and panting as if he'd just run from the bus stop, carrying more bags than he possibly needed. Then he saw Jaebeom seated on the floor stretching, face absolutely lighting up before padding his way over to him. 

"Jaebeom," Mark says, mouth breaking into a relieved grin, no doubt happy that he actually recognized someone in the class. "Hi! How's it going?" 

Jaebeom, for whatever reason, wants to do nothing else but glower at the other boy but stops himself. His parents taught him better than that. "Hey, man," he offers back, but before they can continue their conversation the instructor starts calling for them to do tumbling warm-ups. 

When he looks at Mark (but not _really_ watching, he'd never admit to that) break into the tumbling routines and effortlessly transition to the more difficult tricks and flips, Jaebeom wants to pinch himself. There's _no_ way this is Mark's first day. Sure, he's slim and lithe - you can tell that just by _looking_ at the kid. But what, is he a former gymnast or something? 

He can see the other trainees shooting Mark disdainful looks from his peripheral vision, and even the instructor seems impressed, clapping his hands together like a seal whenever Mark confidently (and perfectly) performs a back-flip and a cheat-gainer. 

Moving and training in a fun, practical manner seems to allow Mark to shed off all the layers of shyness he originally had when he bolted into the class - no, scratch that, when he stepped off the plane and into the _country._ When he laughs and smiles at Jaebeom, a really big, blinding smile, throwing up a hand to catch Jaebeom's in a high-five, the younger of the two can't help but return it, even if he has cartoon-like fumes erupting from his head. 

"That was really fun, Jaebeom, don't you think?" Mark grins to himself, as the two are packing up to leave after class. Mark shoots him a double thumbs-up. Jaebeom has been a breakdancer for several years, but at the moment his shoulders and arms ache, so the word _fun_ doesn't really cross his mind. 

"Yeah, it was okay I guess…" he trails off, slinging his bag over his shoulder. Mark copies his action, gathers his multiple bags of clothes and spare shoes and follows him out. 

  
"We can walk home together," Mark says, enunciating the Korean syllables carefully. He takes his index and middle fingers to mime a walking person, crinkling his eyes at the younger male. 

"Do you live in the company dorms, too?" Jaebeom replies, raising a brow at the boy. He honestly found it a little surprising - he'd heard that Mark was rich - like, _rich_ rich. Sometimes the better off trainees would have their own accommodations. Jaebeom was the son of good, hardworking farmers. He wasn't one of the rich ones. 

Mark nods, sticking his bottom lip out in thought. Jaebeom notices that Mark tends to do that, as if to carefully piece together the sentence before he speaks. "Next to you," he explains. _Neighbors._ "Jinyoung told me he lives next door, and you live with him." 

Jaebeom shakes his head and comes to terms that then, yes, they will indeed be walking back together, unless he comes up with some elaborate excuse about having to go somewhere. 

He almost does that, too, until they round the corner of the building and he spots Jinyoung, leaning against the brick with a plastic 7/11 bag hanging from his hands. The sight is very familiar. Achingly so. 

When Jinyoung notices that the two have emerged from their class, his face lights up. 

"Hyungs!" he greets. "How was class?" 

Mark looks surprised. "Were you waiting for us?" he asks, and Jaebeom has to smother down the instant thought he had; that Jinyoung was waiting for _him,_ actually — like Jinyoung usually does. 

"I have singing lessons nearby," Jinyoung replies, rummaging through the plastic bag. He retrieves a small sandwich from it, with perfectly-red strawberries and whipped cream between the soft buns. "So I thought I'd wait. Here, Jaebeom hyung, you must be hungry." 

Part of Jaebeom wants to refuse the pretty thing, but his stomach actually rumbles, so he takes the offering from Jinyoung's hands. "Thank you, Jinyoung-ah." 

The trio begins walking down the street together, the sun still high in the summer sky despite it being late afternoon. Mark blinks, looking at the two Koreans puzzledly. "That's really sweet of you. People don't do that, in America. 

"Do what?" Jaebeom asks, his interest piqued. "Jinyoung is my _dongsaeng._ He behaves well to me because in turn, I take care of him." the explanation is clipped, mechanic. Mark would need to learn about Korean culture eventually. 

Jinyoung rolls his eyes, running a seemingly frustrated hand through his raven locks. He pokes through the convenience store bag again. "That's _not_ only why, hyung, but okay," he huffs slightly, and Jaebeom finds it strangely adorable. "Well, I didn't forget about you, Mark hyung." 

The two older boys watch Jinyoung pull a little pastel purple bag out, adorned with cartoon-jewels and bears, its logo loud and appealing. Jelly candies. "Here, for you." Jinyoung says, offering the bag towards Mark. Jaebeom hears the enthusiasm spoken under Jinyoung's poorly-acted nonchalance — making his eye twitch in annoyance. 

"I _love_ gummy bears," Mark breathes, and he really does look strangely affectionate towards the bear-shaped gelatinous sugar. "Thank you, Jinyoung! I'll have some later, my hands are full. Seriously, so nice of you." 

Jinyoung's mouth makes a little 'o' and he rips open the bag just as they stop at a corner, waiting for the walk-sign to indicate to them to continue their journey across the busy intersection. "I um, noticed you eating jellies the first time I saw you at the company. We don't have that same brand in Korea, but these are really good, too. My sisters are obsessed with them." 

Jinyoung sounds more nervous than Jaebeom is comfortable with admitting. He glares at the neon crossing sign, willing it to turn so he can continue on back to the dorms and away from Mark's shit-eating grin.  
  
"If this is how a _dongsaeng_ is, then I will make sure to take care of you like a proper _hyung,_ too, Jinyoung." 

Jinyoung flushes lightly at this. "Here, try them!" he plucks a cherry-red bear from the bag and holds it up to Mark's lips. Jaebeom gapes, watching on in horror as the other boy parts his lips prettily, allowing Jinyoung to push the gummy into his mouth. 

He looks away as the other two start gushing to each other about how tasty the stupid thing is. The crosswalk flashes clear and he starts walking, without bothering to see if the other two have followed. 

Stupid, handsome, perfect Mark Tuan. 

His name is sour in Jaebeom's mouth. 

  
  


/ / 

"Listen, and _then_ he watched the instructor explain how to do this one move, only one time, and went off running and executed the move _perfectly_ ," Jaebeom complains loudly, pacing around the dorm's kitchen animatedly. "I heard he didn't even audition. He was _scouted._ In America!" 

Sungjin watches as the younger boy swings his hands around dramatically, idly wondering why Younghyun couldn't have been the one Jaebeom caught in the kitchen making instant ramen. Sure, Jaebeom was basically a little brother to him, but little brothers — can definitely. be. annoying. 

The older boy cracks an egg into the steaming-hot bowl of noodles, pretending to hum contemplatively. "Companies do that all the time, Jaebeom-ah. Find the pretty ones and then train them up when they get here." 

Jaebeom makes an indignant sound, and Sungjin swears that the boy's face might have turned blue. 

" _Pretty_?" Jaebeom repeats. "He's not _— seriously,_ hyung, you too? _Younghyun_ is good looking. Even, y'know, Wonpil is good looking. But Mark, he's…" unable to finish the sentence, he scrunches his nose in distaste.

Sungjin rolls his eyes. "Well, what does your eternal rival think of him? Did they meet yet?" he asks, referring to their currently-absent roommate.

"Jinyoung?" Jaebeom asks, " _Jinyoung_ introduced me to _him._ They've been all buddy-buddy for weeks now, ever since Mark got here. Interrupted me having lunch and everything just to gush about how Mark's from LA and how he's always wanted to go there!" 

The elder groans, pinching his nose. He should have known.. _and_ he should have known better than to bring Jinyoung up in the conversation at all. If he had a thousand _won_ for every Jinyoung-related crisis the broad-shouldered boy in front of him had, Sungjin would have no reason to chase the riches that would (supposedly) one day come with fame. 

Jaebeom seems blissfully unaware of the older's thinning patience, continuing with his tirade until Sungjin is _thisclose_ to grabbing his good friend's neck and throttling it. 

" _Jaebeom-ah_ ," Sungjin says firmly, which seems to finally grasp the younger boy's attention. "I really don't think you have any reason to be jealous of the new guy. I promise you that your precious _dongsaeng_ is still both adorably and disgustingly attached to you and I don't see that changing any time soon." 

Jaebeom blinks once, twice; Sungjin can practically see the cogs turning in the terribly dense boy's head. 

"I'm _not_ jealous!" 

Sungjin groans again, exasperatedly jabbing his chopsticks in Jaebeom's direction. "Idiot, I mean this in the nicest way, but this is possibly your fourteen- _thousandth_ time complaining about Jinyoung this month. To _me._ That doesn't count the times you cornered Younghyun and whined to him, too. And we can both assure you that Jinyoung is still - _yep,_ obsessed with you almost as much as you are obsessed with him." 

The younger looks absolutely scandalized, mouth gaping open and closed like a fish as he tries to formulate an intelligible response. After a few moments he gives up, throwing up his hands. "Dibs on the shower." he finally says, grumbling _stupid-Mark_ and _obsessed-my-ass_ under his breath. 

Sungjin sighs, watching as Jaebeom stalks off. He has half the mind to nag him for giving him attitude, ultimately deciding against it. At least now Sungjin can finally enjoy his ramen in peace. 

  
  


/ / 

  
  


Jaebeom lays back in his bunk, massaging his own neck and stretching out his tight, stressed traps. He feels a lot better, after his hot shower and changed into comfortable pajamas, but the fact of the matter is he still spent _most_ of the day - whole week, actually - pissed about Mark. _For God knows what reason,_ he groans internally. Being hateful sure does create some bad kinks in the neck. 

He makes a mental note that the other trainees have also gotten ready to sleep, finishing their dinners and winding down in the living room, besides Sungjin, who's lounging in one of the top bunks in the same room as Jaebeom. 

_And,_ he thinks scornfully, _Jinyoung._

He hasn't seen Jinyoung all day, in fact barely at all the whole past week, catching glimpses of the other boy in the morning before he left for school and at night when he returned from training. Probably the only full conversation he held with Jinyoung was the day he'd waited for him (and Mark) after lessons on Thursday - and he did _not_ want to have the instant replay version of Jinyoung feeding Mark gummy bears by hand continuing on inside his head for another single second.

It straight-up _irked_ the shit out of him. 

"You look constipated," Sungjin's voice comes from across the room, to which Jaebeom simply glared. 

Jaebeom hears the front door open in the distance and then shuts a second later — Jinyoung's familiar, melodic " _I'm back"_ called to whoever was listening. Jaebeom was always an attentive boy (not with schoolwork, but with other human beings, at least), so he can tell by pace and foot-weight alone that Jinyoung is trekking his way to the bathroom to no doubt shower off a long, stressful day. 

Closing his eyes and reclining back in the comfort of his mattress, it's hard to not let his mind wander to the other boy. He hasn't seen him in a while so - it's a natural response, right? Jaebeom hums, thinking back to the public relations class and pictures Jinyoung sitting in front of him again; how the morning sun shone warmly against his naturally golden skin and made his dark, almond eyes glitter playfully.

He's somewhere between a daydream and slumber when a soft _'hyung'_ pulls him back to his tiny bunk bed in the JYP dormitories. He blinks, wondering what woke him, until he realizes that the person he'd just been thinking about is perched at the side of his bed, hair damp and lips curled mischievously.

"What is it, Jinyoung-ah?" Jaebeom asks, furrowing his brows at the younger. “Something wrong?”

Jinyoung giggles, nudging the other boy by the hip until Jaebeom scoots over on the bed enough for him to climb in beside him. Since it’s a twin size bunk, the two growing teenagers don't _really_ fit in it together, but somehow Jinyoung makes it work, their shins pressed against each other and his head just shy of Jaebeom's shoulder. 

Jaebeom feels heat crawling up to his cheeks at the sudden intrusion of his personal space, but before he can address it Jinyoung holds something up in front of his face. 

A book - manga, to be exact - the brightly-coloured, shiny cover taking Jaebeom by surprise. 

"I was at the library and I _know_ you've been dying to read the new volume of _Naruto_ , since other people keep borrowing it before you can get your hands on it," Jinyoung explains excitedly, holding the book up against the light as though it's a treasure. "Couldn't believe my lucky stars, hyung, some middle-schooler was returning it _just_ as I was leaving." 

The younger pushes the book into his hands, beaming at him. All it does is accelerate the blush that was creeping up his face. 

"Jeez, Jinyoung-ah, thanks," Jaebeom clears his throat in an attempt to push down the sudden burst of affection blooming in his chest. "Did you… wanna read it together?"

Jinyoung's eyes crinkle happily in response, his eye-whiskers pulling at the smooth skin of his face, and he nods. They flip onto their stomachs and Jaebeom places the book between their heads, opening the cover. 

Whatever previous tension Jaebeom imagined between them dissipates under the dim light of his bedside lamp, the two marveling at the drawings and chatting animatedly about the story. It's easy, too easy to talk to and be around Jinyoung. Not quite like a relationship with the younger brother he'd always wished for when he was a kid, but something else entirely. He couldn't put his finger on it. 

Jinyoung's head has lulled completely, nestled on his own arm as he lazily looks at the illustration, and then Jaebeom's face. "I ran into Chansung hyung today," he mumbles tiredly. "He said something strange to me."

Jaebeom props his head in the heel of his hand, watching the younger boy questioningly. "Oh yeah? What did he say?" Absently, Jinyoung's ankle brushes his foot. 

"He said to keep working hard and standing out, 'cuz the company has their eyes on us. Like, you and me, hyung." 

Jaebeom's throat constricts at the sudden news. He's not heard about plans for him to debut, especially since they've only trained for less than two years. The possibility of debuting still seems like a far-fetched idea. He watches other trainees come and go monthly, and more often than not feels like he's the next one on the line.

"I know, right?" Jinyoung chuckles softly at Jaebeom's quiescence. He tries keeping his half-lidded eyes on Jaebeom, but his breathing becomes heavier and warm against the older boy's face. 

"Like a dream come true… to stay together." he mumbles, eyes fluttering closed. 

The younger boy's words warm his body in an almost-uncomfortable way, seeds of affection blooming and scratching from inside his chest wall. _This kid,_ he blinks. Jaebeom studies the dark lashes resting against Jinyoung's cheeks, the hair thrown haphazardly across his forehead. 

He reaches forward in the small space between them, brushing the raven locks away. He didn't want Jinyoung to break out in pimples. 

_Debut together with Jinyoung,_ he muses. They already auditioned together. Placed first together. Trained together. Lived together. And slept in the same bunk together, apparently. _Doesn't sound... terrible?_

There's still a respectable amount of space between them, save for the bare skin of Jinyoung's ankles thrown across Jaebeom's. From his small distance away, he can smell Jinyoung's freshly washed and dried hair and clean pajamas. Where they _are_ connected feels unbearably hot. He thinks of the sun, that damn _sun_ that Jinyoung always seemed to be sitting in, _shining_ in; his round cheeks and golden skin.

  
Jinyoung is from the south and grew up near the sea. It's fitting, Jaebeom thinks, for such a warm, kind person to be born in the lingering summer sunshine of the Autumn equinox. He'd like to visit there, one day. 

Jaebeom swallows slowly, unwilling to allow himself to drown in his messy thoughts when he was already so tired. He needed time and sleep to process the information Jinyoung had given him — and the boy's presence in his bed, innocently sleeping away. Careful not to jostle Jinyoung, he reaches over the other boy's form to click off his bedside lamp. 

As Jaebeom sinks back into the bed, throwing the thin sheet over top of them, Jinyoung unconsciously snuggles closer to him. One hand splays between their chests and the other just barely curls against Jaebeom's ribs. _Warm._ he feels warm. Like the days he'd lay in the backyard at his parents' farm, soaking in the sunshine like a napping feline. 

Before sleep can fully claim him like it did the other boy nestled against his side, the last thing he vaguely hears is a poorly muffled _“fucking moron,”_ and a snicker in the direction of Sungjin’s bunk. 

**Author's Note:**

> Did you like it? Any kudos/comments are so appreciated (my writing lives off of them actually!) <33
> 
> Humour/dialogue/fluff is not something I'm super comfortable with writing. But I tried. I hope I captured the essence of 16-year-old Jaebeom!


End file.
